Can Loved Ones in Heaven Look Down on Me?
00:00:00.000 | Here's a question that is not rare,
00:00:02.000 | although because it's a little bizarre,
00:00:03.540 | it may strike us as a little weird at first,
00:00:05.500 | but it's sincere and important,
00:00:06.940 | and it's not infrequent in our inbox.
00:00:09.140 | This time it comes from a listener named Leslie.
00:00:11.340 | Pastor John, I'm not trying to derive personal comfort
00:00:14.180 | from this question, I just honestly wanna know,
00:00:16.520 | can people who are in heaven look down
00:00:18.760 | and see us, their loved ones, on earth?
00:00:22.460 | - Well, who of us would not like to know?
00:00:26.120 | - Right, exactly.
00:00:27.500 | Who has not asked this good question and wanted to know,
00:00:32.500 | especially those of us who've lost loved ones
00:00:35.000 | and think about it personally that way,
00:00:36.940 | as well as those who wonder whether
00:00:38.800 | Jonathan Edwards is looking down or the Apostle Paul.
00:00:43.380 | So let me say five things in response to this question.
00:00:47.420 | Number one, ultimately, I think the answer is
00:00:49.720 | we don't know for sure.
00:00:51.060 | At least we don't know to what extent
00:00:55.620 | they might be allowed to see and know
00:00:58.060 | all that goes on on earth.
00:01:00.600 | There's at least one passage of scripture
00:01:04.360 | that some writers would interpret in a way
00:01:07.160 | that makes it quite clear that they do know what's going on,
00:01:10.100 | and I'll get to that in just a moment.
00:01:11.340 | But I think I would not stake my life
00:01:14.680 | on a position on this because I don't know for sure.
00:01:18.780 | But I'll tell you what I think in just a minute.
00:01:20.920 | Number two, I would say that if God grants saints in heaven
00:01:25.920 | to see the suffering and misery,
00:01:30.660 | as well as the good on the earth,
00:01:32.800 | we may be sure that they see it,
00:01:36.400 | not with their old imperfect eyes,
00:01:38.500 | and they understand it not with their old imperfect minds,
00:01:41.880 | and they assess it not with their old imperfect hearts.
00:01:47.580 | Rather, we may be sure, because the Bible says
00:01:51.680 | that they have been perfected in heaven, Hebrews 12, 23,
00:01:55.460 | that they will see and understand and assess all things
00:01:59.920 | in a perfectly spiritual way that takes into account
00:02:04.300 | everything they need to know in order to make sense of it
00:02:09.040 | and to keep from making any mistakes.
00:02:11.780 | And so they will not in the least doubt the goodness of God
00:02:16.340 | in what they see or the wisdom of God in what they see.
00:02:20.840 | That may be as important as any surety
00:02:24.280 | of whether they can come and see.
00:02:27.480 | Third, there is one text that may well,
00:02:32.020 | I think probably does, probably does suggest
00:02:35.060 | that God grants the saints in heaven to witness the race
00:02:39.140 | that we are running on earth, Hebrews 12, 1.
00:02:42.100 | Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud
00:02:45.780 | of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin
00:02:50.780 | which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance
00:02:54.880 | the race that is set before us.
00:02:56.760 | Now, the reason that doesn't settle things for me completely
00:03:01.660 | like it does Henry Alford, he thinks that just closes
00:03:04.660 | the deal, he thinks they definitely see us, watch us,
00:03:09.300 | cheer for us, but the reason that doesn't settle things
00:03:13.940 | completely for me is that the Greek word witness here,
00:03:18.340 | just a couple of verses earlier and three times at least
00:03:21.580 | in chapter 11 is a word used to refer to the testimony
00:03:26.580 | that the saints of old gave in their willingness to die
00:03:32.520 | for the truth of God.
00:03:34.280 | So it's possible that Hebrews 12, 1,
00:03:37.020 | surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses simply means
00:03:40.860 | that all the saints in the past, when they died,
00:03:45.100 | successfully witnessed to their faith on earth
00:03:48.800 | and made it to heaven through their suffering
00:03:52.400 | so you can make it too, not that they're watching you.
00:03:56.940 | But I'm inclined to think it does mean that they're watching
00:04:01.380 | partly because of the picture of the race.
00:04:04.360 | And it's as though the saints finished their marathon
00:04:10.200 | at their deaths, then they come around and stand
00:04:13.460 | on the side of the racetrack and watch us.
00:04:17.460 | And we are supposed to take heart from that
00:04:20.500 | because in essence, they would be saying,
00:04:23.100 | "Hang in there, trust God, you can do this.
00:04:26.700 | "We made it, you can make it too."
00:04:29.580 | And I find that very, very encouraging.
00:04:32.840 | And the fourth thing I would say is that we should be
00:04:39.060 | more cautioned to beware of spending too much time
00:04:42.420 | thinking about the saints above so that we're tempted
00:04:46.360 | to interact with them in the way that the Roman Catholics do
00:04:51.300 | when they pray to the saints and pray to Mary.
00:04:54.100 | I think this is very dangerous for the health of our faith.
00:04:57.680 | It has led many people, millions I fear,
00:05:00.600 | to look to the saints and to Mary in their longing for help
00:05:04.580 | rather than focusing on Christ and the throne of grace
00:05:08.620 | that he has opened to us.
00:05:09.880 | This very book of Hebrews that we just quoted
00:05:12.880 | also says in chapter 415,
00:05:15.560 | "We do not have a high priest who's unable to sympathize
00:05:18.520 | "with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect
00:05:21.800 | "has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
00:05:25.600 | "Let us with confidence then," because of Christ,
00:05:28.500 | because of Christ, "Let us with confidence then
00:05:31.900 | "draw near to the throne of grace."
00:05:34.440 | Not to Mary, not to the saints.
00:05:36.140 | "Let us draw near to the throne of grace
00:05:38.840 | "that we may receive mercy and find grace to help
00:05:42.180 | "in time of need."
00:05:43.420 | Christ is the one mediator between God and man.
00:05:48.420 | And the New Testament does not encourage us
00:05:51.460 | to make the saints or Mary into mediators
00:05:55.760 | as we seek God's help.
00:05:57.420 | And the last thing I would say
00:05:59.560 | is a caution against sentimentalism.
00:06:02.440 | You know, if you watch movies or television,
00:06:04.700 | sooner or later, it seems, every show that has somebody die
00:06:08.580 | is gonna have some sentimental, sappy statement about,
00:06:11.980 | well, they're with the angels or they're in heaven
00:06:14.240 | or they're looking down on us, et cetera,
00:06:17.780 | without any reference to God or Christ.
00:06:20.380 | And we're all tempted to hope that those who had no faith
00:06:25.380 | as far as we could see or little faith,
00:06:29.560 | we hope they might be saved.
00:06:31.520 | And of course, Jesus is merciful
00:06:33.560 | and the thief on the cross was saved in his 11th hour.
00:06:38.240 | And we're not the last judge.
00:06:40.100 | Maybe God turned somebody's heart just before they died.
00:06:43.640 | We don't make those judgments, but Jesus warns us.
00:06:48.640 | "On that day, many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord,
00:06:51.880 | "'did we not prophesy in your name,
00:06:54.120 | "'cast out demons in your name,
00:06:55.720 | "'do many mighty works in your name?'
00:06:57.280 | "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you.
00:07:00.680 | "'Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'
00:07:03.400 | "And that's a warning, not just for ourselves,
00:07:07.560 | "lest we deceive ourselves into thinking
00:07:09.500 | "we're following Christ when we're not.
00:07:11.100 | "It's also a warning that we not be sentimental
00:07:15.100 | "as though everybody who was a good person who died
00:07:18.480 | "is going to be in heaven.
00:07:20.640 | "So the bottom line is that we should focus
00:07:24.140 | "on the great central realities of the New Testament,
00:07:28.280 | "which are rock solid, absolutely certain,
00:07:30.660 | "full of hope for all who trust in Christ.
00:07:34.560 | "And if you think about the great saints in heaven,
00:07:38.420 | "take heart, if they see you at all,
00:07:43.300 | "they are cheering you on to endure every hardship
00:07:48.300 | "by encouraging you to focus on Christ."
00:07:52.340 | - Amen, what a motivation.
00:07:54.740 | That's a great balance of text, Pastor John, thank you.
00:07:57.220 | And a very interesting twist on Hebrews 11 too.
00:08:00.380 | I was not expecting that.
00:08:01.620 | Leslie, thank you for your question.
00:08:02.980 | And thanks to everyone who listens in to this podcast.
00:08:05.680 | You can find our audio feed and our episode archive,
00:08:08.020 | and you can reach us via email
00:08:09.720 | all through our online home at desiringgod.org/askpastorjohn.
00:08:14.720 | We are gonna take a break for the weekend.
00:08:16.160 | Now on Monday, we're gonna return
00:08:17.740 | and talk about heaven again,
00:08:19.800 | and whether some people will have more joy in heaven
00:08:22.600 | than other people will have.
00:08:23.900 | Some things Pastor John has said in the recent past,
00:08:26.340 | and some things that Jonathan Edwards said
00:08:27.940 | in the distant past, leads one listener to conclude
00:08:30.940 | that yes, some people will have more joy
00:08:33.120 | or less joy in heaven.
00:08:34.920 | We'll get to the bottom of that question
00:08:36.620 | using biblical texts on Monday.
00:08:39.720 | I'm your host, Tony Reinke.
00:08:40.820 | Have a great weekend, and we'll see you on Monday.
00:08:43.120 | (upbeat music)
00:08:45.720 | (upbeat music)
00:08:48.300 | [BLANK_AUDIO]